Masked gunman tries robbing La Mesa Carl's Jr.

An employee of the Carl's Jr. at 8110 Parkway Drive called 911 shortly after midnight and said the suspect walked up to the outside window as the restaurant was closing, brandished a black semiautomatic handgun and demanded cash from an assistant manager, according to a La Mesa police statement.

The assistant manager did not hand over any money but, instead, fled and ordered the other employees to hide inside a walk-in freezer and call police, the statement said.

The suspect took off in an unknown direction, and was not located in a subsequent search that involved a sheriff's department helicopter, police said.

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